The present invention relates to a new and improved cleaning apparatus for cleaning the flats of a revolving flats card.
Generally speaking, the cleaning apparatus for cleaning the set of flats of a revolving flats card comprises a carrier or support located on the side of the set of flats or the flats thereof provided with clothing. A shaft is rotatably or pivotably supported on the carrier. A cleaning brush is fixedly secured to this movable shaft, the cleaning brush passing over the clothing of the flats at a flats cleaning position located outside the carding zone of the card. The cleaning brush extends over the length of the set of flats, in other words transversely or in the cross-machine direction. The cleaning brush is pivotable together with the shaft about the lengthwise axis thereof, the pivotal movements of the shaft and the cleaning brush consisting of alternate cleaning and return movements.
In a carding machine the main or carding cylinder, which is fitted with needles or wire teeth or the like on its cylindrical surface, during the course of its rotation carries along the fiber material fed thereto and moves this fiber material between its own clothing and that of the flats in the set of card flats which normally move in the opposite direction. In this manner, the fibers of the fiber material or stock are parallelized. Furthermore, the fibers of the fiber material are subjected to a cleaning action. Impurities such as husk fragments, neps and the like accumulate during this cleaning action in the clothing of the flats. Accordingly, during operation of the card, the clothings of the flats must be continually cleaned. This is performed by cleaning brushes or brush members projecting into the clothing of the flats at a cleaning zone located outside the carding zone.
In accordance with the teachings of Swiss Pat. No. 561,294, the so-called flats strippings or strips are released from the clothing of the flats by an oscillating brush and pass as a coherent web into the path of movement of an oscillating comb. The needles of this comb penetrate the web and separate strips from the run of the web; when the needles of the oscillating comb have an upright disposition the strips fall away from them. Additionally, a rotating brush cleans the flats clothing of husks and the like.
This cleaning apparatus has the disadvantage that cleaning of the flats clothing is not effected with sufficient thoroughness and impurities or contaminants are not extracted from the flats clothing to an adequate extent.